PALO ALTO “”mdash; It was a drawn-out wait for the seniors.
It was expected of the sophomores.
And it’s something the freshmen can get used to.
A Pac-10 title.
Amid all the injuries it endured this season, UCLA asserted its
reign on the conference, crushing Stanford 75-54 at Maples Pavilion
on Saturday, to earn its first conference title since the 1996-1997
season.
“I’m so happy for our guys because we controlled our
own destiny,” said UCLA coach Ben Howland, who was drenched
from head to toe with water following the game. “We decided
it ourselves. We didn’t have to wait for any way to get us in
the back door.”
With the victory over the Cardinal and a successful weekend
sweep of the Bay Area schools ““ UCLA’s first since the
1994-1995 season ““ the No. 15 Bruins (24-6, 14-4 Pac-10) head
to the Pac-10 Tournament as the No. 1 seed. With UCLA’s
confidence at its apogee, the Bruins’ postseason begins
Thursday at the Staples Center .
“We’re a team specifically that should be respected
by any opponent,” UCLA guard Arron Afflalo said. “From
Duke to whoever is No. 1 currently ““ Connecticut ““ I
don’t think any of those teams can come to UCLA or us come
into their gym and think it’s a cakewalk. That right there is
a step forward.”
Howland now has won regular-season championships with three
different teams: a Pac-10 championship with UCLA, a Big East
championship with Pittsburgh and a Big Sky championship with
Northern Arizona.
Howland wants his team to enjoy this victory and to put what
they have accomplished in perspective.
Despite the malaise of injuries that permeated UCLA’s
roster this season, most notably the loss of Josh Shipp and Lorenzo
Mata, the Bruins weren’t deterred. They didn’t stumble.
Instead, they bonded. The freshman especially were forced to grow
up.
“At first it was hurting,” freshman forward Luc
Richard Mbah a Moute said. “To have … teammates with
injuries, surgeries, you worry what kind of direction you’re
going, but that’s something you can’t be hanging on.
You have to keep playing. The freshmen did a good job stepping
up.”
The seniors know all too well how much they have struggled at
Stanford (15-12, 11-7). They hadn’t won at Maples since
2001-2002, nor have the Bruins swept the Cardinal in a season since
1994-1995. But that was in the past, as UCLA delivered Stanford its
worst home loss this season.
The Cardinal had no answer for the Bruins.
Stanford stayed competitive for the opening three minutes, but
then UCLA’s shooting caught fire and Stanford
self-destructed. After falling behind 5-0, the Bruins jumped out to
a 14-2 run and never looked back. Scintillating shooting from the
outside by freshman guard Michael Roll ““ who had nine points
on three 3-pointers ““ and Afflalo really opened up
opportunities for the inside. The Bruins outshot the Cardinal,
firing at a 50 percent clip in both halves.
UCLA downright controlled the paint. Mbah a Moute looked like
Cal’s Leon Powe, tallying 12 points on 6-for-9 from the field
and nine rebounds, five of which were on the offensive glass. By
the end of the game, UCLA had outrebounded the Cardinal, 33-24.
“By far in my mind, the best team we played all
year,” Stanford coach Trent Johnson said. “I
can’t remember the last time a team came in here and (did
what they did).”
UCLA came out with a courageous performance on the defensive end
which marked its success. The Bruins held the Cardinal to 35
percent shooting from the field in the first half. Senior forward
Matt Haryasz, Stanford’s leading scorer at 17.3 points per
game, was held to eight points and was 0-for-5 from the field in
the first half. Stanford turned the ball over 15 times, compared to
UCLA’s season-low seven turnovers.
Afflalo limited senior Chris Hernandez, who had zero points and
four turnovers in 11 minutes of play in the first half, by closing
out hard and bodying up the Cardinal guard.
During a stretch in the second half, UCLA held Stanford
scoreless for nearly five minutes until Cardinal Dan Grunfeld hit a
six-foot jumper with 6:57 remaining.
“Our defense is what really is working for us,”
freshman guard Darren Collison said. “I think if we continue
to stick on our defense, I think no team can beat us.”
It only got worse for Stanford as it was on the wrong side of
the highlight reel.
Afflalo converted a rarity when he was fouled by Grunfeld on a
three-point attempt with one second left on the shot clock. Afflalo
made the 3-pointer and the free throw to give UCLA a 67-46 lead
with 5:52 left. Out of a media timeout with a 19-point lead and
2:54 remaining, Howland drew out a play in which UCLA guard Jordan
Farmar, who had a game-high 16 points and seven assists, eyed a
leaping Hollins for a two-hand alley-oop dunk.
“That felt great,” said Hollins who notched 13
points and eight rebounds. “Just throwing it down, it put the
icing on the cake.”
For the seniors, especially guard Cedric Bozeman, getting a
championship means so much more after what he has endured with
surgeries and lost years.
“I didn’t know whether I was going to come
back,” said Bozeman, who sat out with a torn right ACL last
season. “(Before) we weren’t winning. When you’re
not winning it’s definitely not fun. Days are longer. Days
are not fun. You’re always in a bad mood. So, now to get to
this point, it was all worth it.”
But now he wants more. He wants his career and the Bruins’
postseason to keep rolling.
“Hopefully this isn’t our best basketball,”
Bozeman said. “Hopefully we’ll have better basketball
ahead of us.”